During his working visit to Strasbourg, France, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan on Thursday signed the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine (Oviedo Convention).

The ceremony was attended by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), Marija Pejcinovic Buric, who congratulated Armenia on joining the Oviedo Convention and welcomed the important steps taken to increase Armenia's engagement with the CoE, informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

In his remarks, FM Mirzoyan noted, "The Government of Armenia continues its policy in the direction of strengthening the rule of law in the country, implementing democratic reforms, and increasing institutional capabilities, and for this purpose, the Council of Europe is a key, opportunity-giving platform for us."

The signing ceremony was followed by a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and the Secretary General of the CoE.

The interlocutors discussed a wide range of matters on the Armenia-CoE agenda.

The normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan was touched upon as well. In this connection, Mirzoyan briefed on the recent developments, including discussions held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Recalling the reaction of the Secretary General of the CoE among the responses made by a number of partners to the border delimitation process between the two countries, Mirzoyan stressed the importance of unequivocal recognition of territorial integrity based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, and ensuring maximum clarity in the delimitation process.

Continuing the previous discussions, the FM emphasized that Armenia is constructively engaged in the discussions on unblocking regional communications based on the vision built on the principles of respect for sovereignty, national jurisdiction, equality, and reciprocity.